Time for a film

Hope you enjoyed yesterday’s first installment of the Top 50, for a full list of The Top 50 as well as all the blog posts click here. Onto the next 10 movies!
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#40 – Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows

While I wasn’t too excited to see this, it pleasantly surprised me. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law have a great chemistry, and there’s enough action to entertain. I had not seen the first film so that was not an issue and it also had some great humour at times. 
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 #39 – Hugo

Critically acclaimed Hugo comes in at #39 on my countdown. This film has already won a huge amount of awards including Best Director for Martin Scorcese. Set in 1930′s Paris, it tells the tale of an orphan living in the train station and the mystery that unfolds as he tries to put together an automaton left by his late father. Ben Kingsley is great, as well as Sacha Baron Cohen, who was probably my favourite part about this movie. While I was told the 3D was a must see, it didn’t add to the movie for me and I didn’t enjoy this as much as others did. I did find it a little boring at times which is a shame, but this is probably a must see for most and it has had a great reception amongst film reviewers and critics in general. 
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#38 – The Guard

This comedy starring Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle was not what I was expecting at all. The humour is very subtle and had me laughing at a delayed pace a lot of the time. It’s not your normal Comedy/Crime movie and very unique, but I appreciated it – and it doesn’t try to be something it’s not. 
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#37 – Adjustment Bureau

Isn’t Bureau is a very strange looking word? Anyway… I’m a massive Matt Damon fan and I’ve loved most of his movies so it’s no surprise I really enjoyed this one. Another good concept (there’s been some good ones this year) which I won’t spoil too much but is has something to do with ‘Adjusting’, and the Bureau really don’t want Damon and Emily Blunt to be together. A nice little on the run type film which Damon is all too familiar with after the Bourne series. 
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#36 – Contagion

One of my guilty pleasures from 2011 was Contagion, a thriller based on a deadly disease that spreads throughout the world. Ironically Matt Damon features in my countdown twice in a row but the cast also boasts Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Laurnce Fishburne. What did I really enjoy about this film? The concept, The score, the way the Director Steven Soderbegh made this into a thriller when there’s no villain so to speak. 
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#35 – X Men: First Class

While not a die hard follower of the X Men series, I’ve seen most of them and the latest one does not dissapoint. It gives us a fantastic story of how it all started including Xavier and Magneto’s beginnings which I found great. Fans have probably already seen it but if you like action movies I would check it out. 
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#34 – Captain America: The First Avenger

Another ‘superhero’ movie, this was probably my favourite of the bunch (X-Men, Thor and The Green Lantern). Chris Evans gives a great performance but it’s mainly the storyline and action that is entertaining in this one. Quite excited for The Avengers this year which will combine the powers of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man. 
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#33 – The Descendants

The second favourite for Best Picture at The Academy awards, The Descendants has been a big hit this year when it comes to awards. George Clooney was fantastic in this, and unlike his usual roles plays someone we can really relate to as a father and husband living in Hawaii. He deals with some confronting issues including his teenage daughter (Shaliene Woodley) who also gives a great peformance. While the acting and morales of the movie were great, it wasn’t my kind of movie, although there were some touching scenes and some funny moments. I think this is more for an older generation perhaps. 
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#32 – Midnight in Paris

Also nominated for Best Picture is a movie that I liked without loving. I wasn’t too sure going into the movie what it was about but probably should have noticed that the movie was categorised as a Comedy / Fantasy / Romance. While I didn’t feel taken away by the movie, it was pretty ‘cool’ at times and I appreciated the visual place it takes you. Owen Wilson does quite well in a role that’s not a full comedic one and Rachel McAdams stars as well. 
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#31 – Melancholia

I don’t want to spoil what happens in this movie as I think that was part of what made me enjoy it is that I had no idea where it was going. Kirsten Dunst stars in this movie that is a very peculiar and unique one indeed. I’m also a big Kiefer Sutherland fan and he was my favourite part of Melancholia. This film is definitely art housey, and I’m not expecting most of my readers to enjoy it but I certainly did. If you are in for something different and have 136 minutes up your sleeve then it’s worth a look!

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Hopefully you enjoyed some of these movies, stay tuned for the Top 30 over the coming days as I start to get to the ones I really really loved!

#50-41 <<< #40-31 >>> #30-21